In Asia and the Pacific, over 700 million young people are not just passengers in development; they are piloting our future. Their ideas, energy, and innovation are the rocket fuel, pushing boundaries and reshaping economies, cultures, and communities at breakneck speed. But too often, just as they reach liftoff, youth encounter barriers that limit how high they can fly.

If we want to reach what we call the Youth Moonshot—UNDP’s vision for a bold youth leap for human development, we need to understand and act on the forces that propel youth forward and those that hold them back.

‘Boosters’ like specific skills, funding for innovation, and guidance to get through hurdles propel youth forward. ‘Brakes’ like knowledge gaps, gender discrimination, limited access to finance, hold them back.

For UNDP and partners across Asia and the Pacific, working with young people to help motivate and energize a dynamic socioeconomic future means working on multiple fronts identified by youth, and lessons that have been learnt in trying to get things to scale in other fields as well.

So, what does this Moonshot mean in practice – just think of it as a rocket launch!

• Engines start up and ignite. The Youth Co:Lab partnership with Citi Foundation laid the groundwork for this Moonshot. Over 580,000 youth supported. 3,200 enterprises launched. Livelihoods generated for nearly 160,000 people. What do these results have in common? To fuel liftoff, multi-sectoral partnerships are key. Through the Youth Co:Lab Springboard Pre-accelerator Programme, knowledge partners like Accelerating Asia have helped early-stage social entrepreneurs become investment-ready—mobilizing over $23 million from regional investors. One standout, DeafTawk, offers inclusive sign language interpretation services to over 45,000 users and has created more than 1,100 jobs. And this is only one of so many.

• Then comes the launch sequence. Tech platforms for youth civic engagement, climate campaigns, and entrepreneurship diagnostics that elevate youth as architects of change. Take the recent advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on climate responsibilities, a landmark moment in international law birthed in our region. It began with a group of Pacific Island students campaigning six years ago. Their efforts, backed by Vanuatu and supported by UNDP, led to a ruling that could redefine global accountability on climate change. Or the Regional Civic Tech Innovation Challenge, led by UNDP, which drew over 250 submissions from young innovators deploying digital tools for transparent, participatory governance. That’s youth leadership thrusting the world onto a new trajectory.

• And once out there, it must maintain course in orbit. A regional ecosystem of 1,000 partnerships—from universities to investors mobilizing millions in support of youth ventures. We are working with universities as drivers of youth empowerment. Over 60 institutions have joined the mission. Among them, the Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT) in Japan co-created the Beyond SDGs Life Game, a gamified learning experience that brings sustainability concepts to life through interactive gameplay. Or finding new ways to engage with governments. In partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and national stakeholders, UNDP is rolling out Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Diagnostics—a data-driven tool to assess policy, finance, human capital, and innovation. So far, 12 countries across Asia-Pacific have completed or are undertaking this diagnostic to embed youth in national systems. These diagnostics are shaping national youth strategies and embedding youth priorities into long-term development plans. This is how youth-led innovation moves from the margins to the mainstream, by influencing how governments plan, fund, and deliver for the next generation.

This is why a Moonshot needs multiple players and partners. Just as a great piece of music brought to life by the lyrics, the score with a different rhythm and tempo, the voices that put it on the map. We don’t do this alone. UNDP estimates that for every dollar invested in our programs for and with youth, the return on investment is $27.50 and that by improving the economic prospects for 21 million people in the region, over $190 billion could be added to its GDP.

The song was originally composed by Bart Howard and recorded by Kaye Ballard. Then made famous by Frank Sinatra and Count Basie had a special ingredient added by Quincy Jones – a livened tempo to give more freedom to space and movement and the lyrics followed. And associated in this form with the first Apollo missions – it became part of the Moonshot! In this region, home to more than 60% of the world’s youth, investing in young people isn’t just smart navigation; it’s the most promising trajectory for reimagining that next flight to the Moon. ‘In other words’, as the song goes, if we want to accelerate young people’s agency and opportunity, we must help clear away some of the land and space debris, turbo-charge the launch sequence, and trust youth to plot and navigate the course.